The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Hydrangea macrophylla and will be referred to hereafter by its cultivar name, ‘Lolly Pop’. ‘Lolly Pop’ represents a new Bigleaf Hydrangea, a deciduous shrub grown for landscape use and for use as for use as a cut flower.
‘Lolly Pop’ was derived from an ongoing controlled breeding program by the Inventor that focuses on developing new cultivars of bigleaf hydrangeas for cut flower use. ‘Lolly Pop’ originated from a cross conducted in the Inventor's nursery in June 1999 in Amstelveen, The Netherlands between Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Bodensee’ (not patented) as the female parent and Hydrangea macrophylla ‘Snowball’ (not patented) as the male parent. The new Hydrangea was selected as a unique single plant from the progeny of the cross in May 2003.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar was first accomplished by softwood stem cuttings in Amstelveen, The Netherlands in August 2003 by the Inventor. The characteristics of this cultivar have been determined to be stable and are reproduced true to type in successive generations.